Planning the Perfect Mess
by QueenMills
Summary: To say that Regina knew what she was doing would be a lie. She had no idea what she was doing. All she knew for sure was that this was her chance to finally try to share a romantic evening with Emma Swan. SwanQueen fluff. Oneshot.


Planning the Perfect Mess

 **This was a prompt for a SwanQueen date where one of the parties wanted it to be a date and the other was oblivious. JennMaryn did the one where Regina was oblivious and I'm doing the opposite. So, buckle up for some SwanQueen fluff!**

Description: To say that Regina knew what she was doing would be a lie. She had no idea what she was doing. All she knew for sure was that this was her chance to finally try to share a romantic evening with Emma Swan.

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Things between Emma and Regina had been moving in a particular direction lately. They seemed to spend more time together and sometimes Henry wasn't even present. One day, it suddenly occurred to Regina that something more was afoot. There was something about the infuriating blonde that wasn't so infuriating anymore…well, she was still a little infuriating, but this was different. Sweaty palms when she and Emma talked over coffee were new. That fluttery feeling in her stomach had certainly gotten stronger when she saw that yellow death trap in her driveway. Regina had wondered for weeks what this new set of feelings could possibly mean and then one morning, it was all clear to her.

"Morning, Mom." Henry said as he munched on some cereal. Regina smiled and planted a kiss on his head before making her way over to the coffee maker.

"Good morning, Henry. How did you sleep?" She asked.

"Fine." He mumbled.

"Only fine?"

"I couldn't sleep for a while last night." He said sheepishly. Regina arched a concerned eyebrow.

"Worried about school?"

"No, not really. I just…There's this girl." Henry finally admitted. Regina's eyebrows shot up. A girl? Oh, when had Henry grown up?

"Oh." She said.

"Every time I see her I just get this funny feeling in my stomach, like there are butterflies. My hands get all sweaty. When I talk to her, I feel like everything I say is dumb. I don't know." Henry explained, blushing profusely. Regina swallowed hard.

"Are you sure you like her like that? You don't think you could just like her as a really good friend?" Regina asked. Henry laughed.

"No, I think I like-like her." He said. Then, he finished his cereal and put the bowl into the sink. He kissed his mom on the cheek and headed off to school. Regina just stood there, horror clouding her thoughts. Surely she didn't…No, there was no way. She did not have a crush on Emma Swan. That would be ridiculous. Then, as if on cue, her phone buzzed. It was a text from Emma.

 _"Hey, you want to grab a bite at Granny's so we can talk about the Miner's Day stuff?"_

Regina's heart skipped a beat and she scowled. Was this the price of all of her evil deeds? She was now cursed with a stupid crush on _her_ of all people.

 _"Sure."_

When Regina arrived at the diner, Emma was sitting at the counter. She looked so cozy, just munching on her grilled cheese and Regina caught herself staring a bit too hard. She set her jaw and strode over to the blonde with an extra measure of self-control. She would not let this silly set of feelings get the better of her.

"Hey, Regina." Emma said.

"Hey." Regina said, a little louder than she meant to. Damn it.

"So, let's talk Miner's Day." Emma said. They did. Nothing major happened, really, and yet, something did. Regina was compelled more than once to smile wider than she thought she should. She found herself laughing too much. At one point, Emma even casually touched her forearm and she felt herself melt. The Queen! Melt! That was it. That was the last straw. Regina excused herself to the bathroom for a moment to collect herself. She took a long look into the mirror.

 _"Ok, Regina. You need to do something about this. You cannot let this woman, this Emma Swan, get the better of you. You have conquered realms! You can conquer this. All you need to do is take control of the situation."_

But how? How could she possibly? The best way to confront a problem was to face it head on. So, that was exactly what she was going to do. Regina straightened her blazer, took a deep breath, and walked decisively back to the counter. In the event that she did, in fact, have romantic feelings for Emma, then a date would be the next step in dealing with them.

"Emma."

"Yeah?"

"I uh…" Regina faltered. No! No, she had to maintain her composure. Maybe she should have spent another moment or two preparing for this…

"What?" Emma asked with her big green eyes and her stupid face and her-

"Have dinner with me." Regina spat. It was a little harsher than she meant, but she said it. Emma smiled wide.

"I would love to."

The sun began to set and Regina's nerves began to steadily climb. She had given herself only a few hours to prepare this date and it needed to be perfect. She had gone to the store and collected the proper ingredients for her own version of a grilled cheese. She knew how much Emma loved them, but she would be damned before she placed a Kraft single in her mouth. She had also stopped by the liquor store for the perfect bottle of wine. Now, all she had to do was get dressed and wait. Every single item of clothing she owned, however, was wrong. One dress was too dressy. Another was too imposing. Nothing she owned would work. After thirty minutes of indecision she climbed onto her bed in defeat. Maybe she could just wear nothing and hope for the best. Regina snorted at the thought. Emma probably wasn't ready for that.

In the end, she opted for her cobalt dress. It was pretty and flattering without being too much. She added a tasteful necklace, a pair of her favorite Jimmy Choo's, and a smoky eye. She looked in the mirror. Ok. Everything was perfect. When Emma finally knocked on the door, Regina was more than a little nervous. She strode over to the door and threw it open before she could properly experience any second thoughts.

"Hey, Regina! Wow, you look nice." Emma said as she walked into the house. She was wearing jeans and a white t-shirt. The queen felt grossly overdressed.

"Yeah." Regina managed. Damn it. Poise and Composure, Regina. Poise and composure.

"Are you ok?" Emma asked.

"I'm fine, dear. Please, join me in the kitchen." Regina said, sounding a bit steadier. The house was perfectly put in order, not a speck of dust in sight. Emma, of course, didn't notice, but made Regina feel better all the same.

"Where's the kid?" Emma asked. Regina poured them both a glass of wine.

"At a friend's house."

"Oh." Emma said. Regina's heart fell a little bit.

"Were you expecting him to be here?" She asked. Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Uh. Yeah. I thought we were going to have dinner together as a family." Emma said. Regina's heart didn't know what to do with this information. On the one hand, Emma had called them a family…and on the other, she didn't know this was a date. No one had a date with their kid around. Anxiety welled up in the queen's heart. Emma had no idea, did she? She didn't know this was a date…and suddenly the wine and the dress and the food was far too much. What if Emma didn't even want this to be a date? Oh god.

"Would you excuse me for a moment?" Regina spat, walking hastily out of the room. Emma just stood there. Why was Regina being so damn weird?

Once the queen was safely in the bathroom, she took a long, steadying breath. How could she have been so stupid? How? Ok. Get it together. Regina stared herself down in the mirror.

"You are Regina Mills, The formerly Evil Queen. You have done impossible things and you will do this." She said quietly to her reflection. It was one dinner. Yes, she had put an ungodly amount of effort and care into this particular dinner, but it was just a dinner. They had done this a thousand times before and they could do it again without incident. Regina nodded and left the bathroom.

"Are you sure you're alright, Regina?" Emma asked, sipping her wine.

"Perfectly fine. Let's eat." She said. She could do this and it was all going to be ok. At least, that's what she told herself.

"That was excellent. I gotta say, Regina. You made the classic grilled cheese way better." Emma said, smiling wide.

"Thank you, dear." Regina said quietly.

"And you probably didn't know this, but this is actually my favorite brand of red wine."

"A total coincidence." Regina lied.

"So, I was thinking we could invest in some sort of bakesale to raise money." Emma said suddenly.

"What?"

"You know, for Miner's Day?" Emma reminded her. Oh. Yes. Miner's Day.

"That sounds fine."

"Cool."

"Yes. Cool." Regina whispered, trying not to look away, but also not wanting to look at Emma at all.

"Um, was there something else you wanted to talk about?" Emma asked. This was an unexpected chance. Regina could come clean, admit this was a date. All she had to do was say it. Simple enough.

"Actually, there was something else…" Regina began. Her heat pounded out a wild rhythm.

"Yeah?"

"The real reason I asked you here tonight…" Her palms grew clammier by the second. Why did Emma have to look at her like that?

"Uh huh?"

"I forgot." Regina said finally. Oh, what a lie. It wasn't even a good lie. Emma chuckled a little.

"Ok…"

"You know, it's actually getting late." Regina said, rising from the table. It was only 8pm…

"Ok. Well, I guess I'll see you around then." Emma said, a little confused. Regina walked her to the door, wearing the tightest smile to date. She had failed completely and utterly. This was a horrific idea. How could she have possibly thought this was a good idea? She wasn't even brave enough to tell Emma of her intentions. Pathetic.

"I guess you will. Goodbye, Miss Swan." Regina said quickly. She practically pushed Emma out the door and shut it, nearly slamming it, in her haste. Then she turned around and leaned against it. Damn it. God damn it. What a mess. Regina kicked off her shoes and trudged up the stairs, not caring for the moment that she needed to clean up. She made her way to her bed and fell into it. Maybe Emma wasn't even interested in women…Regina laid facedown on her bed and sarcastically congratulated herself for planning the perfect mess.

For the next week, Regina avoided Emma like the plague. She couldn't bring herself to be alone with her. She couldn't even bring herself to go back to normal…So, she just avoided her altogether. They planned Miner's Day via email, text, and messages between Henry. By the time Miner's Day rolled around, Emma was more than a little convinced she had done something wrong. She just didn't know what.

"Hey! Regina!" Emma called from across the stand selling funnel cake. Regina sighed as the blonde jogged over to her. Where was Henry when she needed him?

"Miss Swan." She said sternly.

"What is up with you lately?" Emma asked, visibly upset. Regina was still as stone. She scanned the crowd for Henry, Ruby, or even Snow to possibly interrupt this encounter.

"I don't know what you mean." She said.

"Come on. You've been weird ever since we had that dinner at your house." Emma pressed. Regina sighed loudly and started to walk away. Emma wasn't one to just give up though. She followed.

"I have not been 'weird', as you say." Regina said quietly. Emma grabbed her arm.

"Regina, you're being weird right now. Come on, I thought we were friends."

"We are friends."

"Then tell me what's wrong."

"No."

"Oh my god! You are such a child sometimes." Emma huffed.

"Me? I'm a child? Right." Regina sneered. Why was she being so mean? The queen cursed herself internally. Why couldn't she just stop being so-

"Regina, if you don't tell me what's wrong I'm going to…I'm going to tickle you." Emma warned. Her head whipped around and if looks could kill, Emma Swan would be a smoldering pile of ash.

"You wouldn't dare." She said evenly.

"Oh, I would. In fact, I'm about to." Emma said, smiling, trying to keep things kind of light. She had no idea what she had done. She just wanted to make it better. Why wouldn't Regina let her?

"So help me, if you-"

"Ok, fine, but please tell me what's wrong. You're my friend!" Emma said, exasperated.

"That's just it, Emma! We're friends!" Regina snapped.

"Why would…Oh…Oh my god, I am such an idiot."

"Finally, there is something we agree on. Now if you would excuse me." Regina said quickly, turning to stomp off again, exposed and embarrassed.

"Wait a second!" Emma shouted.

"What? I like you. I have a big stupid gay crush on you and there! Now, I've said it! Happy!?" Regina shouted, almost on the verge of tears. This was so embarrassing. She just needed to get back to her car where she could text Henry and tell him to go home with Emma because she was not going to stay here. Not after her confession.

"Regina! Wait!" Emma snapped, getting a little annoyed.

"What!?" Regina snarled.

"Yes! I am happy you admitted that." Emma shouted.

"Why? So you can laugh?" Regina shouted back.

"No! Why are we shouting?"

"I don't know! I thou-" But Regina's words are swallowed by the soft lips of the Savior. Startled, the queen almost pulls back, but Emma's arms wrap themselves around her upper back. When they finally break apart, both women are breathless.

"Better?" Emma asked gently, blushing just a little. Regina's eyes widened.

"Y-yeah."

"Good. So the other day, with the wine and grilled cheese? That was a date?" Emma asked, still holding Regina in her arms. The brunette nodded.

"Yes it was."

"Well then, it seems I owe you one now." Emma said, chuckling a little. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She flipped through her music library as Regina quietly watched her. She was a bit stunned, truth be told. Finally, Fly Me to the Moon played. Emma offered her hand, hoping her spontaneity was going to reward her. Regina took the hand and they moved in closer to each other. The music played and the two women swayed.

"You know, you could have just told me it was a date." Emma murmured.

"I was frightened."

"That I wouldn't feel the same?"

"That you would think I was a fool." Regina admitted. She looked up at Emma who was smiling wider than Regina had ever seen.

"Well, I don't. I do wish you had just told me though. You would have saved me a whole week's worth of worrying about whether or not I had screwed this up."

"What do you mean?" Regina asked, resting her head on Emma's shoulder. They continued to sway even when the music ebbed.

"You threw me out of your house early the other night…I thought you had picked up on the fact that I liked you and…I don't know. I spent the whole week thinking that you hated me because you had picked up on some dumb gay vibe I gave off." Emma finally explained. Regina snorted.

"Quite the opposite, really." She said.

"I mean, I only brought up Miner's Day stuff to hide how badly I wanted to kiss you."

"And how badly is that?" Regina asked. Emma smirked and brought her lips as close as she could without actually touching the other woman's.

"Badly." Emma whispered.

"Then be my guest." Regina whispered back.

THE END


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